To the Moon
by MoonSword1994
Summary: Kaidan wakes up one night to find his daughter talking to the Moon. The reason why breaks his heart. A fluffy post-war one-shot set several years after the Reaper war. Written in response to a one word prompt given to me on DeviantArt. BioWare owns all, I'm just writing my own happy ending.


**A/N: This one-shot was written thanks to the one word prompt given to me by fellow author VorchaGirl. Thanks so much! Hope you all enjoy the result. Prompt: Moonlight**

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Kaidan heard small footsteps walking past his open bedroom door, stirring him from his slumber, and as he opened his eyes he was confronted with an empty bed. A painful reminder that his wife was still off righting the wrongs of the galaxy, leaving him behind to look after their home on Earth and their children. The thought of his children and the memory of small footsteps caused Kaidan to carefully tumble out of bed, being careful not to wake his sleeping son in the crib beside him. He went over to his son's crib and looked in, making sure his nearly one-year-old was still asleep and he could not resist caressing his dark curls, smiling to himself. He leaned down and ghosted a kiss across his forehead before he left the bedroom.

In the hallway he paused and listened for any signs of his four-year-old daughter, and he heard the ceiling above him creak. _'There she is,'_ he thought triumphantly and he walked quickly over to the small set of stairs that led up to the loft above the house. His daughter had been staying up there more and more since her mother left a few weeks ago, so he should have known that she was there right away. When he arrived at the top, he looked around for a moment before his gaze found the small figure of his daughter bathed in silver moonlight, illuminating her white blonde hair. She was sitting in front of the huge window at the other end of the loft, her eyes directed skyward and it sounded like she was talking to herself.

"Daddy's doing good, Mommy," she said softly. "And so is Gabe, he's so much bigger now, and he smiles! And talks some too! Mommy, he's so cute when he smiles, I wish you could see him."

Kaidan felt as if the breath had been knocked from his lungs, he had no idea that his daughter had been coming up here to do this; he thought she just really enjoyed playing here. _'I'm such an idiot,'_ he thought as he made his way over to his little girl. He should have known, his wife and daughter spent hours up here on a regular basis when they were together, it would only make sense that she was here when her mother was not. She missed her.

"I hope you're doing okay, Mommy," she continued. "Daddy says it's hard on you to be in space for a long time, so I hope you can come home soon. I've been practicing finding the star pictures like you showed me, and I found Andromeda! I want to go there someday."

"Maybe someday you will," said Kaidan with a slight chuckle and his daughter jumped. "Sorry, sorry, Astra, I didn't mean to scare you."

Astra turned her head and smiled at him before returning her attention to the window. "I'm talking to Mommy," she said, pointing up at the sky. "She said whenever I missed her, I could talk to the Moon and she'd hear me, no matter where she is."

Kaidan smiled as he sat down behind her, pulling his daughter onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace. "That's right, baby girl, Mommy can hear you. She's up there right now with Uncle James and Uncle Joker telling them everything you've told her tonight, like how Gabe's smiling now and how much you miss her."

"Do you think Mommy misses me?" asked Astra with a slight crack in her voice and Kaidan's heart broke at the sound.

"Of course she does," he said, holding her tighter against his chest. "She misses you so much when she leaves, that's why she doesn't let you go when she comes home. When she comes back this time she'll hold both you and Gabe for days, and you'll be wishing for her to leave again."

Astra looked up at him, her cognac colored eyes shimmering in the light and she shook her head. "No I won't, I don't want Mommy to go away anymore, I want her to stay with us. I know she likes outer space and is special to lots of people, but she's my mommy and Gabe's too, we need her here!"

He thought for a moment, he knew Astra was right, that his children needed their mother but what his wife needed was to hear her children say that. "Hey Astra, how would you like to teach Gabe how to talk to Mommy?"

"But he can't say much," countered Astra and Kaidan nodded.

"Yes, but he misses Mommy too, and I think you should show him that he can still talk to Mommy when she's gone," said Kaidan gently. "You wait here and I'll go get Gabe."

"Okay, Daddy," said Astra and she then moved herself off his lap and resumed her position beneath the window.

Kaidan smiled again and headed back downstairs, creeping back into his room and lifting Gabriel from his crib, soothing him when the baby boy started to fuss. "Come on, big guy, we're going to talk to Mommy," said Kaidan and he carried Gabriel up to the loft and he sat behind Astra once again.

"Hi, Gabe," said Astra cheerily, taking her little brother from her father's arms, holding him as best she could in her lap. "You want to talk to Mommy? Do you miss Mommy?"

Gabriel looked up at his sister, his deep blue eyes shining brightly in the moonlight and he smiled at her. "Ya!" he gurgled. "Ya, ya! Mama!"

"You have to tell the Moon," explained Astra. "That way Mommy can hear you." She then moved her brother so he could view the Moon and the little boy clapped his chubby hands together, smiling bigger.

"Hey Astra," said Kaidan, completely in awe of his daughter. "Do you want Mommy to come home soon?"

"Yes, I miss her a lot!" said Astra with a firm nod. "Gabe, do you want Mommy to come home?"

"Ya!" shouted Gabriel happily, his eyes still locked on the Moon.

"Do you want Mommy to leave again when she comes home?" asked Kaidan, reaching out and tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"No, I don't want her to go again, I said that before," said Astra with a slight pout. "Gabe and I need her here, not with the stars. Right, Gabe?"

The little baby furrowed his brow and pursed his lips slightly. "Ya," he said in a surprisingly low voice and Kaidan raised his eyebrows in surprise. His children had always been more responsive than most but this was unexpected.

"Daddy, can we sleep in your bed?" asked Astra as she played with Gabriel, moving his arms in time with whatever song she had playing in her head.

"Sure, sweetheart, why don't you take Gabe on downstairs and get in my bed? I'll be right behind you," suggested Kaidan and Astra nodded, carefully standing up with her little brother in her arms. "Go down the stairs on your bum, like Aunt Sam showed you!" he called just in time for Astra to reach the stairs.

"Okay!" called Astra. "Tell the Moon to tell Mommy we love her!"

"I will," said Kaidan and when he was sure they were gone, he lifted up his omni-tool. "Hey Viv, did you get all that?"

"I did," said Vivian, her voice noticeably thick with emotion. "I've been thinking the same thing, to be honest. I need to be home with you and with the kids, not here. I'll put in for a transfer to Earth and if that won't work then I'll just retire and be a stay-at-home mom, I'd do anything to be home everyday."

"I know, baby," said Kaidan soothingly. "Get home when you can and we'll see what we can do to keep you here. I just thought you needed to hear the kids say they miss and love you."

"God, did I need that," said Vivian with a slight chuckle. "Hold down the fort just a little bit longer, my love, and I'll be home soon. I love you to the Moon and back."

"And I love you, too," said Kaidan and he closed his omni-tool, giving the Moon one last glance.


End file.
